For BCCI, Cricket is
more a business than a sport

"The
BCCI norms set for media regarding the recent series against West
Indies has crossed all the limits BCCI has to respect about the
media of the nation. This time BCCI has completely barred the TV
media of India from entering the stadium with their essential
equipment like the Camera and are not even allowed to cover the
press conferences that is exclusively meant for the journalists."

Basudev Mahapatra

‘Cricket is more a business than just a sport’ is what India’s board
for Cricket BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has
probably perceived about the sport of Cricket. In the last decade or
probably a little more, BCCI has made it like a business
organisation than savour and promoter of the sport in India. Through
sponsorships and media selling BCCI has surely made it one of the
richest cricketing board of the world but has, for sure, visibly
lost its moral, the minimum sense of ethic and even a little respect
for the country and its media fraternity.

The BCCI norms
set for media regarding the recent series against West Indies has
crossed all the limits BCCI has to respect about the media of the
nation. This time BCCI has completely barred the TV media of India
from entering the stadium with their essential equipment like the
Camera. No glimpse of the stadium is allowed on the day of the game.

The worst thing
BCCI has done this time is that the TV Media persons or, if I say more
specifically, the journalists working in the TV News channels are not
even allowed to cover the press conferences that is exclusively meant
for the journalists and for
no businessman or entity like Neo Sports or BCCI persons. The right to cover the press conferences
is sold to a non-news broadcaster like Neo-Sports and newspersons
representing newspapers and channels are asked to take the video of the
press conference from the right holder.

The media that is shouting for its rights
is still silent! The Indian media maintaining dumb over the issue where
the basic right of the media is not exactly encroached but completely
crushed for the business interests of a broadcaster and the BCCI is what
is the irony!

The restrictions imposed by BCCI in regard
to coverage of the matches may not have any significant impact on the
print media but have bigger impact on the TV news media because the
cameras are not allowed inside the stadium during the game and even
during the Press Conference. In the first One-day match scheduled on
November 29, 2011 at Barabati Stadium of Cuttack in Odisha, TV journalists are asked to keep
their camera in the cab to be parked at a distance of about 300 meters
from the main gate of the stadium. The journalists are to bring the
camera after the Post-match PC is over just to get transfer of the PC
visuals. And, for this only the journalist has to sit and wait till the
PC is over. So, through out the day the journalist is not allowed to do
any journalistic work but submit the self to the mercy of the broadcast
right holder.

The primary question is how could the BCCI
sell out the right of covering the event that is exclusively meant for
the representing members of all form of media to a single broadcaster?
Isn’t BCCI taking the whole TV news media of the country for granted by
doing this to fulfil its commercial ambitions? And, in such a situation
why the NBA and other forums of news broadcasters are not raising a voice to
stop BCCI from encroaching into the rights of the journalists and
reporters of electronic media? Because, the danger may loom large on media
in future if it is tolerated now.

The board of ICC also
must take such a step by the BCCI seriously as the media of a country is
being restricted from doing its job of covering the game. Restricting
members of media from covering the press conference is a direct attack
on the press rights. And, in India, BCCI is doing this for commercial
interests only and for no promotion of the sport of cricket. Such an act
by BCCI is not going to help cricket anyway but convert the sport into a
business activity.